Phillipsburg controls play up front as Wargo, Dech lead Stateliners to fourth straight sectional finals with 35-7 win over Colonia

For all the talent Colonia had this season – and an excellent one it was – the Patriots knew a trip to Phillipsburg would be an immense hurdle.

And for a while, they were right in it. Even though the Stateliners had he ball for more than 14 of the game’s first 20 minutes, and even down 21-7 at halftime.

But when the rain came again – after light precipitation a bit in the first half – in the third quarter, it was easy to tell this might not be their night for a comeback win.

Ultimately, top-seed Phillipsburg (9-1) got three touchdowns from Tyler Wargo and two more from Sam Dech en route to a dominating 35-7 win over 5th-seed Colonia (7-4) to advance to the North Jersey, Section 2, Group 4 final for the second year in a row, and their fourth straight sectional title game overall. (Their first two of the stretch came in Group 5.)

And they will get the chance to win back-to-back titles for the first time since 2013 and 2014 when they host third-seed Montgomery (8-3) next Friday night at 7 pm at Maloney Stadium.

Phillipsburg got the ball first and Tyler Wargo capped a ten-play, 63-yard drive that took six minutes flat with a one-yard touchdown run. And after Colonia held the ball for five minutes but failed to score in the red zone, the Stateliners put together an even longer drive: 14 plays, 68 yards in 8:26, capped by another one-yard run by Wargo to make it 14-0.

Colonia got one back on a short drive just before halftime, on a 15-yard TD catch by R.J. Wortman, the state’s top receiver, who unofficially finished the game with 12 receptions to give him an even 100 on the season, leading the next closest on the list not by a few, but like by at least 20 catches after Friday night action.

But Wargo scored again on a one-yard run on Phillipsburg’s third possession, and they took a 21-17 lead into the temporary locker rooms both teams were using while the stadium gets a new fieldhouse that should be set for next year.

After the break, the rains came down heavier, and it was hard for anyone to get any footing. Ultimately, the ‘Liners got two more touchdowns, one on a 70-yard run by Sam Dech that started the possession where he came out of the pile with nothing but green in front of him, with 3:06 to go in the third, and a 22-yarder with 4:45 left in the game.

Phillipsburg – now 14-0 at Maloney Stadium over the past two seasons – will meet Montgomery next Friday night as the Cougars beat Woodbridge in the other semifinal, 20-15, less than a month after falling to the Barrons at home despite having a lead at halftime. It’ll be the Cougars’ first-ever trip to a final.

Click below for postgame reaction from Phillipsburg runningback Sam Dech and head coach Frank Duffy with Justin Sontupe, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen: